Wood has been the preferred building material for homes, bungalows, cottages and cabins for hundreds of years. Log structures are now extremely popular for their beauty, efficiency and comfort; many log buildings are being offered for sale and can be erected from plans and pre-cut log timbers provided by suppliers.
FIGS. 1A-1C of the accompanying drawings show a range of conventional prior art log wall assembly methods in present use. In FIG. 1A, each log L has an arcuate cut-out C along its entire length to accommodate the next log L in nesting relationship. This assembly method is called "Swedish Cope", and the logs are fixed into place by vertical rods or bolts R, extending through aligned bores B.
The logs L' of FIG. 1B are provided with dual tongues T and dual grooves G for interlocking relationship with each other; and FIG. 1C illustrates an assembly method which combines the arcuate cut-outs C of FIG. 1A with the tongue-and-groove technique of FIG. 1B. Logs L" of FIG. 1C are all bored axially as at 0 for the insulative effect of air space and to provide a conduit for concealed wiring, piping or the like.
Walls constructed according to the above methods are adequate for a rough camping cabin or the like, but all share the disadvantages of diminished insulative effect resulting from the reduced wall thicknesses D, D' and D", which control the transfer of heat or cold through each respective wall. In addition, dirt and dust collecting in the crevices where the logs meet is difficult to prevent or remove. For more comfortable living, the inner wall surface must be covered with plasterboard or other drywall construction, which adds very considerably to the building's costs and eliminates the option of maintaining the charm and beauty of a clear interior wood finish.
FIG. 1D illustrates a form of wood exterior wall construction currently in use, which features laminated wood panels P formed with interlocking tongues T' and grooves G', and with centrally disposed foam insulating core I. Structures built with this system are very satisfactory in appearance and performance, but are considerably more expensive, largely due to the extensive milling operations and processes required to form this composite laminated building material.
It is the principal object of this invention to provide a method of preparing logs for making a product free of all the disadvantages of the above-described prior art, and which has its own distinct advantages as follows: 1) Smaller logs, requiring less growing time and therefore less expensive than the logs of conventional log construction are used. 2) The converted logs of this invention, when erected as a wall, present both interior and exterior smooth and flat for easy finishing, without the need for installing plasterboard or the like as the inside facing of the wall, and retaining the warmth and beauty of wood grain optionally inside and out. 3) The converted logs of this invention are much lighter in weight than conventional logs, and far easier to handle and install. 4) The strength of the converted logs is at least as great as that of much larger conventional logs and sufficient to permit their use as beams, joists or in load-bearing walls with the novel converted logs oriented either vertically or horizontally. 5) The insulation value of the converted logs is greater than that of conventional logs at least one and one-half times larger in diameter. 6) No significant portion of the original log is cut away or wasted. 7) All the above features contribute to lower material, handling and construction labor costs, and therefore logs converted according to this invention can produce structures significantly less expensive than comparable conventional log buildings.